Just some sleep and quiet
by Sevi007
Summary: Aizawa's two jobs are never the least dangerous ones nor the least stressful ones. He is used to getting close to no sleep, getting injured, or just being stressed out in general. He would just shrug it off and continue on, trying not to show any weakness. Aizawa's students however are determined to prove to him that they will wait for him as long as it takes until he feels better


Aizawa was not a morning person. At all. He was the embodiment of the opposite of a morning person, if anything.

That had led to jokes from his friends and colleagues in the past. It had led to people who didn't know him well calling him lazy.

He didn't pay them any mind, never the jokes nor the idiots judging him without knowing anything.

After all, nobody could blame him for being tired after working day and night, both as a teacher and as a hero.

All things considered, it was a bad sign that he had woken up that early. Sunlight only just started to filter into his room through the blinds, and if he listened closely enough, he could hear the voices of his students through his closed door. The elevator rushing up and down quietly as the children went to get breakfast.

It wasn't loud, but even these simple little things penetrated his ears almost painfully, making his head thrum.

Groaning, Aizawa tried to turn and roll on his other side, searching for the sleep he wanted so desperately. But the movement sent throbbing pain through the back of his head and down his neck, sharp and sudden, and he tensed with gritted teeth. Riding it out.

Once the pain had dulled to a thrumming, he allowed himself to breathe again.

But it was already too late – now he was fully awake.

In the privacy of his room, Aizawa swore quietly under his breathe, moving to gingerly sit up. There was no point in staying in bed if he couldn't sleep like this.

Staggering, he made it to the door, leaning heavily against the wood as the movements sent his head reeling again.

 _Goddamn villains. Why do they always aim for the head?_

Grumbling under his breathe, eyes half-closed in order to push the pain back enough, he heaved himself out of his room and towards the elevator.

It took him far too long to make his way down the hallway, into the elevator and out again. Even the slightest movements made his head and neck sting with pain, and more than once, Aizawa instinctively reached up to check if there was blood on the back of his head.

Of course there was none. Recovery Girl would never allow herself to make a mistake such as leave a dangerous head wound untreated. There was no wound anymore, just the persistent headache.

She had told him that he should take some painkillers with him, but he had been too stubborn again.

Once he made it to the living room, aiming for the kitchen, he had the urge to turn around again and hide back in his room.

Literally _everyone_ was already up. And when everyone entailed twenty very lively students and one retired hero that got dragged into the fun all too easily, then that meant a very lively, very _loud_ morning.

Just the kind of morning Aizawa's head didn't really like right now.

Closing his eyes, taking a shuddery breathe, Aizawa considered the possibility to go back the way he just came. Then again, that would mean he had come down here and endured the pain for nothing.

And he really, really needed some coffee right about now.

He pushed onwards, teeth already gritted in preparation.

Loud chatter greeted him right away.

"… and then Ectoplasm-sensei told me to concentrate my acid into my fingertips and _Boom!_ It's a long-range attack now!" Mina gestured wildly with her hands as she rambled on, following All Might's every step as the former hero moved through the kitchen, preparing plates laden with food for his students.

As the girl grinned up to him, Toshinori smiled back down at her, even as he checked the fried eggs that were sizzling in one of the pans. "You will have to show me that, young Ashido. I'm quite intrigued already."

"Eh, that's perfect! I just wanted to ask you if you would come watch my training today, Sensei!"

"Hey!" Tooru piped up, almost falling of Shouji's shoulders as she leaned back from the cupboard she had just taken out the cereals from. "If All Might-sensei comes to observe your training, then he has to watch my special move, too!"

"It's really amazing, Sensei," Ojiro helped her out, "Tooru can emit light…"

"Shhh! Don't tell him yet, I want to surprise him!"

"Now, now," Toshinori tried to calm his excited students down. "You can all show me your special moves, if you want. Alright?"

"Yay!"

"Hrmph," Bakugou snorted, shoving past Tokoyami and Todoroki in order to get to the fridge. "You're all treating your special moves like circus tricks. Special moves are supposed to be a secret, and you're all showing off with it!"

"Well, yeah," Sero piped up, grinning. "Same as you when you show off with your flashy new moves."

That sent a loud, ringing bout of laughter through the room, deep chuckles and merry giggles piling onto each other. Bakugou sent the tape-user a sharp gaze, but no threat followed, so Sero felt safe enough to stay instead of running away.

Was the laughter of his students normally something that Aizawa greatly enjoyed (not that he would tell them) now he just wished that they could be _quiet._ It felt as if a set of needle was penetrating his head. He actually had to sit down on the couch instead of going straight for the kitchen as he had planned, the pain proving as too much.

The groaning both the material and the underground-hero ever so quietly emitted weren't lost, not even in the chattering coming from the kitchen.

"Aizawa-sensei?"

Aizawa grunted, not opening his eyes. Blocking the lights out helped against the headache, at least somewhat.

"Aizawa-sensei, are you alright?" Tsuyu's quiet voice was a relief in comparison to her louder classmates, but concentrating on her words was difficult.

Still, Aizawa managed to wave her concern away and mumbled, "Just tired, Asui."

There was a beat of silence, before quiet steps told him that the girl was leaving.

After a few more beats passed, the chatter from the kitchen area quieted down, quiet "Shhh!" could be heard, and then, silence.

Part of Aizawa instantly suspected that something was wrong – his students were _never_ quiet – but the bigger part of him was just glad for the peace and quiet. Relaxing some, he prepared to lean back and try to get some more much needed sleep…

A warm hand landed lightly on his shoulder, gently enough as not to jostle him. "Aizawa-kun?"

Aizawa managed to bite back the curse threatening to pass his lips, but he couldn't hold back the frown as he opened his eyes and leveled the intruder with a dark gaze.

He regretted that for two reasons – one, the frowning hurt his head again, and two, Toshinori's blue eyes looked back so sincerely worried that one couldn't stay mad at the man.

Trying to be as nice as he could in his current state, Aizawa made a sound that could have been a tired "What?" and made no move to shake the warm hand off.

The grip around his shoulder tightened slightly, but Toshinori didn't leave again, frowning himself now. "What happened? Should we call Recovery Girl?"

 _We_ , he said.

Aizawa's gaze snapped towards a point over Toshinori's left shoulder and landed on the students standing behind the blond, craning their necks in order to see what was wrong with their homeroom teacher. They looked at least as worried as Toshinori.

Honestly. Why did each and every one of them have to be so open about their worry for each other – for him?

Aizawa huffed quietly, mumbling out, "No need. She knows already."

He turned back towards Toshinori, managing a thin smile as he said, quietly enough that the children wouldn't hear him, "Run in with a villain. Hit a wall head-first." 

Thin fingers almost dug into his shoulder, and he would have protested if he had felt better (probably). "You got treated already?"

"Yes," he affirmed in a mumble, eyelids dropping heavily. "Just… need some sleep. Some quiet."

He couldn't see Toshinori's face, but he heard that the man was still frowning as he said, slowly. "Alright. I will see what we can do about that."

Then he was gone, and Aizawa was too tired to call after him, tell him that _It's okay, stop working so hard, stop worrying, I can manage alone._

 _I always managed alone before._

Eyes drifting closed and sleep creeping up on him, Aizawa missed the whispered words being exchanged not too far away.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Yeah, shouldn't we call Recovery Girl?"

"No, no, don't worry… he will be alright, I'm sure of it. Just let him rest a bit."

"… All Might-sensei?"

"Yes, my girl?"

"I don't feel like training or special moves anymore."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time Aizawa woke up, his head felt as if it was filled with cotton wool, his mouth was dry, and he was instantly aware that he was far too warm for someone who had fallen asleep in a drafty living room.

He stirred, blinking his eyes open, and tried to lift one arm to push his hair out of his eyes.

Only to find that his arm was trapped underneath something and he couldn't move it.

Grunting in surprise, he opened his eyes completely, making to sit up, trying to find out where he was and why he couldn't move.

But before he could even try, the weight on his arm shifted, moving away, and a hasty whisper resounded above him, "Sorry, Sensei!"

Aizawa stilled, taking in the sight.

Mina scooted back again, closer towards the erasing-hero who was stretched out over the couch. (He had been sitting upright when he had fallen asleep, so someone had moved him, he noted dimly.) The girl smiled down at him, snuggling against his side again. An issue of her favorite manga in one hand, back resting against her teacher like against a pillow, she used her other hand to drape Aizawa's arm around her instead of under her, making sure that the man was comfortable before she resumed reading.

Shifting slightly – trying to aggravate neither his head nor his student – Aizawa turned on his side fully, looking around.

His students were strewn out all through the living room. There was Bakugou, draped over the armchair across from him, throwing a ball up into the air and catching it again, time after time. Kirishima sat on the ground next to the boy, watching curiously.

There was Mina, snuggled up against her teacher, using him as a pillow. Tsuyu was sitting on the armrest next to his feet, smiling at him as she caught his gaze.

Uraraka was lying outstretched on the ground in front of the couch, drawing something. Opposite from her, Izuku lay in much the same position on his stomach, scribbling something into a notebook. Iida and Todoroki were leaning over them, watching what their friends were drawing.

Aizawa was pretty sure that he saw more of the children out of the corner of his eyes, but he was too tired to lift his head and check properly. Instead he croaked out – voice rough from sleep – still surprised and not knowing what else he could say, "Shouldn't you be training?"

There was a pause. Bakugou caught his toy easily, Kirishima turned, and the scribble-scribble of pens on paper stopped. Everyone looked up and over towards Aizawa, who stared back at them, unmoving.

Mind racing.

 _There was no need for you all to stay._

 _I would have been fine._

 _I always was fine after things like this._

"We didn't feel like it," it was Mina who answered, not even bothering to look up from her manga.

"Yes," Satou leaned into his field of vision, shrugging at his questioning gaze. "No use, we thought."

"We don't want to train," Izuku said, slowly, thoughtfully, "Without you there to watch over us."

"And I wholeheartedly agreed with them," that was Toshinori's deep voice, resounding from the side.

The retired hero stepped into sight, a glass of water in one hand and a bottles of painkillers in the other. "So we decided to stay and wait until you're better."

He probably should have scolded them. Their training was important, after all (it would save their lives in the future), and he would have been fine on his own.

But Aizawa couldn't form the words. Not with both Toshinori and the children smiling at him, expectantly, knowing – they knew him too well – sure of his approval.

Not with them here with him, watching over him.

Not when he was offered the water and the painkillers in a try to make him feel better.

So instead, he managed a tired smile, swallowed the medicine and laid back down with a quiet sigh. "We will train tomorrow again."

It was both a promise and a thank you at once, and when he drifted back to sleep for the second time, feeling warm and safe and comfortable, he was pretty sure that he heard someone say,

"Looking forward to it, Sensei."


End file.
